Cat Mythology: Were cats gods?

[@Crecganford]

Are there any other animals you would like to understand the mythology of?

[@jgr7487]

what about crows & ravens?

[@tbrooks529]

The coyote The stork And is the unicorn mythology related to a real animal?

[@AdeebaZamaan]

Raccoon! My totem animal! (I once asked a cat what he'd be if he weren't a cat. He couldn't choose between a snake and a marshmallow.)

[@ratajs]

Could you make some more videos about fantastic animals? Like Phoenix (and other fire‐birds), or unicorns, as suggested by @T Brooks.

[@Flum666]

Jackal both Egypt and native American

[@taradresbach4684]

I love explaining cat domestication as: cats saw the mouse problem we developed because of granaries, saw a consistent food supply, and said "I live here now." "I live here now" is also one of the ways I've ended up with pet cats in the past. I love these weird little not-entirely-domesticated pocket tigers with their magic purrs.

[@Crecganford]

That is exactly what they are!

[@aariley2]

Pocket tigers! I LOVE IT!!!!!

[@juliamavroidi8601]

In Germany we jokingly refer to them as "room tigers" (Stubentiger)

[@susansaoirse2797]

That's how I found my pal Albert. He just decided to live here. My other cats are dealing.

[@FelonyBellend]

I call my cat a garden tiger 😅

[@mustafabeer1791]

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." One of the many wonderful quotes by the legendary Terry Pratchett!

[@ValeriePoynter]

Love disc world!! (Showing our age!) 😉

[@bitchn_betty]

That why they oversee us scooping their precious poop out of the litter box. 😆

[@bitchn_betty]

Terry Pratchett!!!! Love the way he can winde many lesser known mythologies into great entertainment! Have you seen the "Great Cohen"? It's on KZbin.

[@bitchn_betty]

Sorry it's called "Troll Bridge"

[@ValeriePoynter]

No, but I will definitely check it out! Thanks!!

[@painmt651]

Cats inspire adoration. The little purr of a cat is soothing beyond any other animal noises.

[@marztar]

it's vibration in equilibrium a cat does it when it is truly content humans can also vibrate their vocal cords and express this state of harmony. mongolian throat singing is one example. vibrating your vocal cords also has healing powers for many imbalances such as indigestion and nausea. it's a simple technique that ancients utilised but western world has long lost.

[@christinec7892]

@@marztar cats also purr when they are injured or in distress, the frequency of a cats purr can actually help bones mend faster.

[@marztar]

@@christinec7892 wow that's awesome. Cats are on a higher level. Vibration (resonance) is a hidden magic that we humans have little knowledge of.

[@francisfischer7620]

I adore my dog but I must agree.

[@bob7975]

My mother grew up on a farm in North Texas, and she used to tell me about how the barn cats kept the rattlesnakes under control. They would often find dead snakes about the place, but never a dead cat. They really are good at this.

[@japspeedgirl6216]

I had a neighbour whose cat would kill rats and leave them on the porch. She would then come out in the morning, count the rats and give the cat equal number of pieces of meat. Soon her farm was rid of rats and he would be killing her neighbours rats….😂

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

I've seen a couple of cat vs snake videos. It's amazing how quick cat reflexes are. Every time the snakes tried to bite the cats, the cats just whapped it on the top of it's head.

[@tsugima6317]

I had a lovely bronze tabby named Gringott who would bring me a dead snake every spring and leave it on my back sidewalk. Really miss him.

[@LovingDeantheGodMachine333]

Fearless lil purry fur balls they are

[@buggalujuju]

I had a male tabby that I saved as a kitten from being drowned in a river. He grew up to be the most amazing rat hunter ever. He would kill several rats and mice in one night. He would leave them on the porch for me (He obviously thought I was a very poor hunter). He was awesome.

[@Crowhag]

My four cats have approved your video. And they would also like us to always remember that, unlike other animals, their history is one of domesticating us as a source of food and comfort, not the other way around. So they are still very much gods. 😼

[@Crecganford]

They are indeed!

[@dragonfox2.058]

indeed

[@Ellestra]

Other animals were domesticated. Cat, on the other hand, came for the food and liked it so it said "I live here now" and humans just said "Kitty" and so it is to this day.

[@Svensk7119]

Yes, cats... it's almost as if there was a ytube video about... oh, that's silly of me! Who would do THAT? On a less whimsical vane, I have to note here that "yeah" has a completely different pronunciation than ""yea". The first is y + əhh, and the second is y + ā, Y + Ā, to be clear. Yea of Yea or Nay, in parliamentics. Lord, sometimes I hate having to pedantic! Sorry. The only pets I have at the moment are Peeves. Sigh.

[@Svensk7119]

@@J-11369 Yayy is what is used for celebration. Yea is the opposite of nay. If on-line dictionaries don't say that, then you have found an error in that dictionary. "Yea" has been spelled that way since.... Shakespeare, I think. Yea (yā). Adv. Aye, yes. 2. Indeed, truly... Yeah (yĕ'ə)... adv. Slang: yes. variant of YEA. American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition. Notice the difference in the pronunciation phonetics. "Yayy" didn't make the list.

[@NewMessage]

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." -Terry Pratchett

[@25lighters91]

It's so crazy you came out with this NOW because all I've been wanting is something to tell me why cats are so precious to humanity and we're so revered. Also the spirituality of cats

[@Crecganford]

That was lucky, as lucky as a black cat!

[@francisfischer7620]

Oh yes!! The spirituality of cats and of those who adore them.

[@patriciagallagher3793]

Yes I would like to hear more about cat folklore. I recently adopted 2 little black cats from a local shelter and when i was looking for names found some interesting tales of "fairy cats" and the "King of the Cats" from Ireland and Scotland. I decided on Maeve and Brigit for my little Fairy Cats.

[@karmaalstad5588]

Cait Sith ❤️ 💙 💜

[@gilligan80]

I have a Sid and a Nancy

[@BoiseIdaho83716]

2:48 I love how the cat acknowledges her subjects when she's introduced.

[@GingerRose25]

I don't know where else to write this, but I wanted to thank you for The Mythology Database. What an absolutely incredible resource, and I can't begin to imagine the decades of time and effort that went into gathering all of that information and all of those texts, so to make them available online is truly amazing. Thank you for everything you do for the community!!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much, and I'm continuing to expand it all the time.

[@fuzz668]

I love this. I wrote an entire article on the domestication of cats. I have always had at least one cat by my side for the past 35 years. ❤

[@francisfischer7620]

I'm 70 and have ALWAYS had cats! It only gets better!!

[@gregmark1688]

We naturally think of rodents when we think of animals attracted to stored grains. But, especially considering that early grain stores were almost certainly open-air, it's likely that birds were of equal concern. And ofc, we see that cats are extremely well-adapted for the predation of birds (in addition to their unique adaptations for dining on rats).

[@Crecganford]

Yes, and that’s a good point. Thank you.

[@rictechow231]

I'm not sure where I saw this now but it was a comparison of early Egyptian farmers and Levant farmers and the video made the point that it was emmer wheat in Egypt and the Levant but emmer wasn't native to Egypt, Egyptians sickles were the same as the Levant sickles and the wheat storage were rectangular bins the same as in the Levant and inside the hut. I certainly did have the impression it was a clay tub for storing grain as something like that was shown. If wattle & daub, a closely fitting lid would easy to make . Wattle & daub construction was known in Faiyum 4,800-4,300 BC so I think the conjecture has a little plausibility. I'm inclined to think open air storage would be highly problematic. Rain would have been a disaster, and dew could have been enough for premature germination. It would be one thing to be hungry for a while and quite another to lose the seeds for the next season. The Sahara was green till 5000 years ago - 3,000 BC and that would overlap with neolithic farming. This is well above my amateur (i.e $0) pay grade, so just flagging. At the time I was just interested in the early Egyptian early Levant farmer connections so my recollections might be poor and what I saw might not have been archaeological excavation. So mentioning for interest and not swearing to it.

[@KamikazeKatze666]

Yes, we need more cat content! Give us all the cat folklore!

[@Crecganford]

That's a lot of content, but I think I should cover some of it.

[@jamesbond900]

Learning about Japanese nekomata and bakeneko would be awesome!

[@ToastedTater420]

I second this

[@kronoscamron7412]

cat connoisseur ?

[@francisfischer7620]

Yes!!!

[@davidwright8432]

I love cats and have done since toddlerhood (photographic evidence!). Mostly, they've felt the same way about me. I think it's wrong to think of us as 'domesticating' cats; they found certain interests in common with us, and graciously condescended to ally themselves with us - strictly, of course, on their terms. I'm fine with that.

[@vijaynair2403]

Best thumbnail picture ever. I like the idea of a giant car using the Great Pyramids as a scratching post. “Look out! Goddess Bastet is huge!”

[@e.h.buchmann23]

Congragulations on surpassing 100K subscribers, very well-deserved. ❤️ I'd also love to hear about cats in folklore.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, and yes, there is plenty to tell about cats in folklore and so I will make a video about this as soon as I can.

[@e.h.buchmann23]

@@Crecganford Thank you, looking forwad to it!

[@sofiatgarcia3970]

I've never watched one of your videos I didn't enjoy, but I found this one particularly fun, interesting, and entertaining. My enjoyment was no doubt increased by my love and wonder of all things feline. I vote yes to additional historical videos on cats and cat-related subjects. Thanks so much!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much!

[@cooljledge]

Thank you so so much. I appreciate your diligence to bring quality content. AND that you are such a good explainer!

[@Crecganford]

And thank you so much for your kind words.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Always superior quality, a milestone richly deserved! Cheers from Acorn, a proud patreon!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much for all your support!

[@love4keoni]

This is so lovely. My first video of yours I’ve seen- instant follow! Appreciate the lore depth and mic quality!!! 🥺

[@algernoncalydon3430]

Now pregnant women are advised to not clean cats boxes and such to avoid toxoplasmosis, but back then cats were regarded as protectors of pregnant women.

[@karinschultz5409]

Great summary. Didn’t know about Mafet, so what was the relation to Bastet? Was this a regional difference ie Upper vs Lower Egypt or something else like a different emphasis in attributes? For example, Bast was the goddess associated with hunting mice and snakes, while Bastet (the "et" ending means little Bast, which would be kitten) was associated with music, joy, fun, etc. You often see the kitten motif on musical instruments such as sistra, a type of rattle. Also there's no mention of Sekhmet, daughter of RA, the lion goddess who was associated with war and healing. There's an Egyptian tale that RA, the major sun god, was so annoyed with wayward humans that he sent his daughter to punish them. She slew so many that in order to stop her, the Egyptians brewed beer which they dyed red. She enjoyed the drink so much, she fell asleep and humankind was saved. Sekhmet was the consort of Ptah, the creator God of Memphis. So you had the creative male god paired with a goddess of war and destruction. I find the war-healing duality very intriguing. It is thought that Sekhmet was originally an aspect of Hathor, but by the Middle Kingdom, these became two separate goddesses. Each Egyptian nome (province) had their own recognized triads, male, female and 1 offspring. These triads evolved in importance through time. The Egyptians had a very complex religious system

[@freyasdottirx5894]

I have an interesting ledgend for you. One day the baby Jesus was crying and nothing Mary could do would help. Then a cat lay down beside him and purred. Jesus was comforted and went right to sleep. In gratitude, Mary marked all cats with an 'm' on the forehead. As a mother, I can relate to this story as my cats always watched over my kids. Love your channel!

[@kathleenhensley5951]

That is an Italian story! my Mother told me it when I was a child. In Italian Nativity scenes there is frequently a mother cat and her kittens! My mother ephazized that the mother cat was keeping Jesus warm on a cold night. The M on the forehead of tabbies is Mary's sign of gratitude.

[@freyasdottirx5894]

@@kathleenhensley5951 thank you for the history! I always wondered where it came from. I'll have to find one of these nativities for my tree. 🥰

[@teleiosdawyz4044]

I too have heard this story and have also given the account in my own comment on this vid. I didn't know it was Italian!

[@lilibillie2002]

Ive never heard that before and its so sweet.

[@paulbeahm3891]

I don't know that there's any biblical or extra-biblical historical evidence to support such a claim. Nice story though.

[@LillibitOfHere]

That was facinating. I'm so glad this popped up in my recommended videos. As I was watching this my Splinter cat had broken into a cupboard to steal a box of food. We have three cats and they each have their own mythologial nickname, we also have a butter cat and a sith cat. I'd love to see more on cat folklore!

[@Crecganford]

I will make a video on cat folklore as soon as I can.

[@pabloloerag.5368]

As always the quality of research and presentations is excellent. I just hit the like button as soon as play (some times before play). I personally enjoy your content very much and so do my cats .

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, I really appreciate that, and your kind words.

[@gildedpeahen876]

My favorite little chapter of catstory is when crazy popes persecuted cats to turn attention from their own misdeeds, and then after a brutal slaughter, the rats go crazy and the plague comes. Every creature, even if you don’t like it, has its place. I for one love cats, especially black 🖤🫧🐈‍⬛🍄🗝️

[@ernestschroeder9762]

150 thousand subscribers. Much respect.

[@thehairywoodsman5644]

Cats are still GODS !

[@Crecganford]

True, but I didn't want to upset the dogs :)

[@alethearia]

Also, highly recommend the documentary "The Tiger of Scotland" about trying to preserve one of the last populations of European wildcats (not to be confused with the pallas cat)

[@HANKTHEDANKEST]

My favourite cat-thing is what they do in the morning. They meow at you to wake you up--not because they're hungry, they'll do it with full bowls of food. What they're actually concerned with is that you need to wake up, because what if predators come? Come on big-cat, it's time to get up! COME ON! Oh, but you're just staying in bed--does that mean there's no predators, then? So we can go back to sleep? Oh, nice! ^_^ They don't know that we aren't cats and I love it.

[@khaosssssss1727]

🖤xxx

[@h.m.mcgreevy7787]

Or do the kitty-cats want our warm spot on the bed?☘️🙃☘️

[@danielbtwd]

Last week I found a very sick and mangy old street cat lying outside my front door. I took him immediately to the vet to be told that he was very old and sick. I told the vet to do whatever she could to try and get him back on his feet. He was positive for Felin hiv and had a very low red blood cell count. He was at the vet for a week and had four blood transfusions. I collected him on Friday afternoon and brought him to my land where I have a tent and a shed. I did everything to make him comfortable and the first two nights he slept with me on my bed. He was very weak and wobbly, just skin and bone. The first three days he ate drank and slept. Possibly the first time in his life that he could just relax without a care in the world with someone taking care of him. Today is Wednesday. He died last night lying peacefully near me on his bed. I will go and Bury him now under a fig tree. I watched your post as a little homage to him. I called him Mineto Bebo.

[@MotivatedRat]

Not sure if you mentioned this but apparently cats purrs have healing power

[@Crecganford]

They're good for self healing, not sure about a benefit to people. I shall check that out though.

[@taradresbach4684]

I've heard that too. The vibrational frequency of the purr is apparently just right to encourage the body to repair tissue & bone damage more efficiently. It's pretty cool.

[@rachelkrumpelman5131]

I sometimes listen to cat purring on my phone at night to go to sleep. My cat Indy approves 👍

[@ClipCoyote]

I'm a dog person and I endorse this video. Very informative. The idea that agriculture wouldn't have been possible without cars is very cool.

[@RegebroRepairs]

Ooh. History AND cats. A video for me. And KZbin knew, because when it showed it to me it had been published for a whole 10 seconds. :-)

[@kacperkawecki1850]

I think that an interesting part of cats in european folklore is how they were associated with the devil and witches. I’d love to see a video about that since this wasnt really touched upon.

[@justinwomer3274]

Great video!! Definitely one of my new favorite channels. Well done and thank you!!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@honeybeechanger]

I love your video and I love the way you talk very calming. I noticed that you mentioned Cypress and Egypt as ancient areas where cats become domesticated but you never mentioned the first the first place where cats and humans were found together but not buried together. Cypress where a cat was buried with a human. But in Mesopotamia is where they found the first kind of domesticated sort of cat remains as far as I know. The reason why I think this is significant is that a lot of people are left with the mistaken idea that cats are domesticated in Egypt and I think they were domesticated in Mesopotamia first

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for sharing this, and yes, I had heard there were cats in the Near East and South Eastern Anatolia, but I'm not sure we had evidence to be sure of the domestication date.

[@kimwarburton8490]

congrats on 100k subs! really enjoyed this vid, thanks

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@playfulpanthress]

Ah, back when cats domesticated humanity. Good times!!

[@gilliandawson6567]

Congratulations on the subs. Love your videos.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@spiritualspinster4222]

Cat lover here! I knew about some of the mythology mentioned here but learned about some new cat mythology I didn't know. This was very thorough! I own 2 Egyptian Mau cats BTW.

[@phoebehill953]

Thank you! Kittens, Cracganford and Earl Grey on a Sunday morning - what a treat!

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching!

[@armyforlife3191]

¡Gracias por el video! Me gustó tu narración y el research que haces

[@armchairwomanmao2922]

Dogs: this human feeds me , he must be god ! Cats: this human feeds me, I must be god !! 😽😽😽😽🙀

[@Crecganford]

This is true.

[@chauKlet]

First video I’ve seen on this topic and it’s great

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@bonitahogue5938]

I have a cat that was ferral, and she still after over 10 years, won't let me pick her up, and still runs away when I quietly approach her

[@kirkkatana]

Loved this. Great summary. Would absolutely want to hear more about cats themselves in myths or folklore if you have any. Your delivery also got a sub from me.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much, it is appreciated.

[@kirkkatana]

@@Crecganford Question... do you have any recomendations for unknown or lesser known tales that would make a good short film?

[@igoldenknight2169]

Wonderful! I would love to hear more about the Folklore of cats! Especially in Scotland and Ireland.

[@theshamanarchist5441]

Research the 'Cait Sidhe'. The fairies with the bodies of black cats that inspired the modern day superstition.

[@igoldenknight2169]

@@theshamanarchist5441 I appreciate your reply! Thank you so much!

[@theshamanarchist5441]

@@igoldenknight2169 You're welcome.

[@sftgp]

and we never stopped making symbols depicting cats… cat memes are gold

[@Swissbluemountain]

Cats ARE gods ! They’re teaching humanoids to live on this planet . They’re guarding and healing . They’re high rank angels on earth ! 🙏❤️

[@feliciagaffney1998]

Congrats, Jon, on the 100k subscribers plaque! 🏆⭐

[@grandymommy4531]

I am a cat lover and enjoyed your presentation. I read a lot of the comments and enjoyed them, too. So many cat lovers! More on cats would be fun.

[@hanagrygarova8866]

You are best. I survived bullying and violence. I cope with having a cat, playing videogame were I can be a sneaky bow wielding cat person, and watching cat related science videos. Then I can function as responsible adult. So, thank you for this video.

[@Crecganford]

I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@crazyasalways9272]

😮 I would love to hear more about cat folk tales On another not I just realized that I have been adding your videos for months to my playlist to sleep to (always restarting from where I left off) your voice is very soothing and the topics are fascinating

[@artistpoet5253]

Another excellent exploration of mythology, legend and folklore. I am, for the most part, a cat person though I do enjoy the company of dogs so long as they aren't too rowdy.

[@christinec7892]

I would love to hear more about cats in folklore. Thank you

[@SassyGirl822006]

I view the domestication of cats as more their choice than our. They viewed our mouse problems as a good food source. We allowed them to solve it, because they were better at it. The ones that were friendlier towards people probably got more mice, simply because they were more likely to hunt around people. As the cats got friendlier, and the mice also moved into our homes for food, we allowed the cats to follow. Humans barely altered the cats appearance (beyond superficial colouration), because they were perfectly adapted for their jobs. It's only been since the 1900's that cat breeds that couldn't live in the wild have flourished, because we're really only just now viewing them as animals without jobs.

[@ClaireSweets]

Congratulations Jon. We love your channel. Great video too. - I have a beckoning cat in the kitchen, so far it's working thankfully :) 🐈🐈🐈

[@Crecganford]

Thank you!

[@iridescentdragonfly1839]

Great show. I’ve been feeling bad about my previous comment about having a hard time hearing certain words when you’re talking. I like your accent. I hope I didn’t come across as rude.

[@Mr.EmeraldTheGreen]

Super interesting!! I love love love cats! Thank you so much for your video! ❤❤❤❤❤

[@Crecganford]

Thanks for watching!

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

Fascinating as always, thanks for your research! 👍

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching.

[@greenthumb8266]

I enjoy your talks so much, you’re so easy to listen to, and the information flows in a way that I can readily digest it! Thank you.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words, they are appreciated.

[@oceanman7248]

Thank you for making content!

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching it.

[@a1n9t8o9]

Brilliant subject. Definitely want to hear more about the mythology and folklore of cats and dogs too or other pets and animals in general!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@richarddegener]

Such a good episode! Thanx much appreciated.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@annwhite6305]

My three cats appreciated the history lesson. They now expect to be worshipped as the Gods that they are!

[@Crecganford]

Oh dear, sorry about that :)

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

We could never figure out if my first cat was a cat-like goddess or a goddess-like cat. So we decided to play it safe, as either way she demanded worship. 😸

[@altyrrell3088]

Worshipping cats? No, that was then, this is meow.

[@eeaotly]

I am here for the first time. I noticed two things. 1. Your voice is good for story telling. 2. I remember hearing a voice sounding like yours in the background of certain videos about animals, paranormal and stuff like that. Maybe even movie recaps, I am not sure. Anyway, the similarity is striking.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words, although I've never narrated anything other than my videos.

[@maharetlanoire4419]

Thanks for this wonderful and interesting video. Love the channel ❤

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching.

[@shyamasingh9020]

Thanks for informative take on cat's. Yet the most intriguing aspects of calm creature is that it's origin still unknown. Most mystical quality of cat is its eye that perfectly mirrors, scatters, reflects and projects along exact phases of moon movement.

[@TheRasta510]

Great video! Thanks😻

[@Irisarc1]

Excellent video! You might remember me commenting about your recent dog video that I am so soft hearted that hearing about animal cruelty can really disturb me. Because of this, I was too chicken to watch it. I hate it that there seems to be so much of this kind of thing related to canines in myth and folklore. However, I love it that there is much less of this when it comes to cats! Well, right up until the time that the idea of witches and their familiars took hold in Europe. Luckily, that seems to have passed, so now cats can hold their proper places as the little deities in our homes and hearts that they are. Thank you, Jon, for all the work you do making information like this available online in such an entertaining manner. It takes a lot of time and effort to research the topics you cover. My suggestion for further animal myth studies is the bird, but specifically either ravens and crows or doves. Maybe both 😊

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for all the support you have given me, it is appreciated.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

The Ancient Greeks (or Hellenes, more accurately), credited Egypt with a lot of things that became important in Hellas, building temples in stone, for one thing. Hellenic temples started out as reproducing the local wooden temple style, but in stone. They have many traces of features found in the original wood structures, like stone triglyphs imitating the ends of the purlins that were used in wood. The Romans then blended Greek stone styles with their local wooden Etruscan styles.

[@karenabrams8986]

Loved this. I can understand you better. Sometimes I have to back up, but not this video. I have a tiny Bastet statue I found in a thrift store. A little treasure. 💜

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@vanessamccool7972]

Some people (Peter Monn, another KZbinr who is absolutely hilarious) think cats are aliens sent to observe us lol Newly subscribed. I enjoyed the video.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you so much.

[@rictechow231]

I'm a farm boy. I think that most people will think that domestic cats are tame by nature. They are not, not in the way dogs are. On the farm, quite a number of cats lived under the house. They were appreciated for their mousing and encouraged to hang around with milk and food but not too much lest their interest in catching rodents was impaired. They really just co-existed, they trusted that food would appear and you wouldn't do anything bad to them because we hadn't so far. But that was about it. If you did pick up a kitten you would discover how wild their nature was - all teeth and claws. As a boy I might decide one was worth taming and of course offering food was the path. You can tame any animal that way. Once it was accepting food then you could work on getting it to accept patting. That was a big step. It took a long time for the chosen kitten to actually like being patted and it was a big thing if you could get it to purr. Cats do domesticate themselves. There was an abandoned cat living in hedges off rabbits for a while. Then it worked out there was free milk at the milking shed and tasty rodents in the feed shed. After a while it discovered there were even easier pickings at the homestead including home cooked meals. I doubt it was any different 5,000 years ago, or whenever it was, when the first cat sauntered up. Would quite like to hear more on cat folklore.

[@monagorgan7288]

great video as always sir!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@kilgoretrout413]

I always love your content - this more than ever 😻😻💖

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, there certainly seems to be more cat lovers than dog lovers here.

[@margomaloney6016]

VERY interesting discussion! Thank you, Jon! :)

[@369poe5]

❤ absolutely love this video! Thank you for sharing!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@katiekane5247]

I know it's bad form to recommend another creator but seriously, if you've not watched "Sad Cat Diaries" by Zefrank, do so after watching this excellent video! You've earned a sub Sir, well done. Edit: the frequency at which they purr has been shown to increase healing. After I had a bad injury, my lovies insisted on contact with my broken bones. Best therapy ever!

[@Crecganford]

I like De Frank, his duck video is legendary!

[@alohaandchillohana]

yesssss another awesome video

[@feliciagaffney1998]

My tabby farm cat I had in high school got pregnant and she had 2 adorable babies. I had named her Wildcat for her markings, they made her look like one. The babies I felt like were her good side and her bad side. The one with broader black stripes had little tufts at his cheeks and at the top of his ears. Of the 3, he was the only one not a shorthair. I'd call it more of a medium length. I called him Bobcat, b/c the tufts made him look more like a bobcat or lynx. And he had more of an attitude, wasn't as nice. His brother was the sweet kitten, and even tho they were both males, I named the sweeter kitten Artemis, for the goddess of the hunt. I'm happy to learn she was also associated with cats. 🥰🐱 Artemis sounds like an androgynous name to me, anyway. Lol

[@silentbullet2023]

Stopped by to say great thumbnail art direction!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@bobSeigar]

Ah, thanks for the Video sir. Always love your analysis.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@AdeebaZamaan]

I persuaded my cat to watch most of this with me (only most, because my cat has a short attention span; I once had a cat with an attention span longer than a college freshman's). Thanks! I shall return! With a mind blowing cat tale.

[@painmt651]

My cat actually watches TV wake me upon occasion.

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

I would love to sit down with some tea, get comfy, and listen to folklore about cats! Then again, I enjoy your content so much that I listen no matter the content. 😊 I may occasionally end up a few videos behind, but that just means I get to sit and binge some of that great voice of yours tell these most wondrous of tales of our past beliefs. 🙏 And I always try to leave a like and comment for the care and feeding of the Almighty Algorithm, too! 😉😏 I wonder, in centuries to come, if a mythology will grow up around the Almighty Algorithm, too! LOL, I wish I had a time machine to find out with! ❤️❤️

[@justinwomer3274]

Amazing. Same story from my parents who lived in Sumatra for six years. They were adopted by a family of cats there who chased off the huge Komodo related lizards, warn them of dangers by their behaviors and would gift them the dead king cobras the momma had killed!!!! Such incredible and amazing animals. To think of them as just aloof comes from someone who has never taken time to live closely with them and see their personalities.

[@ithanvega]

“When cats were gods” They still are.

[@AtomskTheMynahBird]

>be me >Cat >climb >And climb >Reach the heavens >see no God up here >Other that Me /⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

[@sandrashevel2137]

Bastet is a Goddess of my belief. I love cats. Cats could of saved people in the black plague, but they said they were evil.

[@simongotborg3866]

I really like the videos like this, that explain the symbolism of a specific thing. It would be interesting to hear how it shapes folklore as well.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, and yes, I will be making a folklore video now as there has been a lot of demand, and I don’t want to upset the cat gods!

[@Skipperau]

I really loved these tales of the cat in Mythology.

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

I forgot to wish you a Happy New Year and to say I'm looking forward to new content as well.

[@Crecganford]

Hello! Happy New Year to you too, and I hope you like what I make this year, and thank you for all your support.

[@johnmoir2528]

Love your work and some great comments here, i'm good for anything about cats, as are my two cats, Loki and Freyja!

[@Crecganford]

Great games for cats too! Thank you.

[@DakiniDream]

Thank you very much, still a great pleasure to listen to you !

[@Crecganford]

And thank you for watching and your kind words.

[@taliaryn3699]

Super interesting video! Love cats

[@Crecganford]

Thank you very much!

[@chrisfalke]

Just found you. Great listen while I'm at my second job....my wife and i got cats so th8s was a curiosity click....subbed

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@crystalroseblue6760]

Our family cat a black and gray tabby loves us more since we saved his life from a bladder desease,he stays near us and has become a very affectionate house cat...he knows he lives because we care and love him...( cost at Vet $3.000 au. dollars almost. ) We are broke....but we love the fluffy fur ball, best mouser ever, and best friend of our little dog . Us humans love our best animal friends the world would be an empty place without them.

[@Jadeserphant]

Love this one! My 22lb mainecoon is named Grimmalkin.......and he approves thus video. Lately, I've been reading Carlo Ginzburg's "Ecstasies." He uses midieval witch trials records and tries to look at them from a different point if veiw. He posits that the Witches familiar are a remnant of a much earlier European shamanistic tradition. It's fascinating stuff. I'd love to know your thoughts on it.